Shortstown Heritage

The first houses were built in 1917 by the Shorts brothers to accommodate their airship workers. In 1915 they had won a contract from the government to build airships in response to the German zeppelin raids over England that had started as early as 1915. The brothers arrived in Bedford in 1915 from their base in Rochester and purchased the land on which Shortstown is based plus land opposite to build their factory. The factory base was made up of a host of industrial buildings, an admin block (known to this day as The Shorts Building), a gas plant, a works canteen and a huge shed (Shed no 1) to house the ships. The Shorts airships the R31 and R32 had wooden frames. For more details of the Shorts years see the Shorts Era section of this website.

Hello. Welcome to the Shortstown Heritage history website. Last year Shortstown celebrated its centenary year and although only 100 years old it can boast a truly unique past which I hope this website will illustrate. Shortstown is a small village just south of Bedford town centre. It started off as a very small community of 150 houses and is the only village in the UK to have been built to house airship workers. The two renowned iconic airship sheds (Shed no 1 and Shed no 2) lie within its boundary and both played a huge role in village life.

Founders of Shortstown Eustace (left) and Oswald Short. Read all about them in the Shorts era section.

After the end of the First World War the airship programme was severely cut back but work continued on the R38 – another airship commissioned by the government. By 1921 however the government had taken back control and the brothers had left the area. Work on the R38 now came under the newly formed Royal Airships Works (RAW). The airship was sold to the US but sadly crashed on a test flight in the River Humber at Hull. Forty four men were to lose their lives in this crash. There is a whole section dedicated to the R38 in this website. Please take a look - although I have photographs of the US crew who lost their lives I have yet to find photos of all of the British crew. If anyone can help please get in touch. This ended the first phase of Shortstowns history with only a skeleton number of people employed at the site.

In 1925 the Royal Airship Works was active again after the government chose to revive airship production. Work began on the R101 airship – an airship carrying great expectations and hope for the future. Suddenly the Admin Block was awash with talented men and women who made up the design and production teams. Go to the RAW Workers section for more information on these individuals. In 1928 Shed no 2 was assembled after being transported from Pulham this was to house the rival R100 airship built at Howden in Yorkshire. Go to the R100 and R101 Airship section to learn more about these two airships.

Sadly on October 5th 1930 the R101 airship crashed over France with the loss of 48 lives with 6 survivors. 18 of those lost lived in Shortstown and a memorial (shown right) to these men was erected in the village playing fields in 2017 by Eastcotts Parish Council - one of many events held in Shortstown that year celebrating the village’s centenary year. The crash put an end to all airship production in the UK and had a huge impact on Shortstown as most families left the area.

1930 The R101 Airship - many of the crew and design staff lived in Shortstown.

The two much loved airship sheds - part of Shortstown's rich heritage.

The newly formed RAF Cardington rapidly expanded encompassing not only Balloon Units, but also Aircraft Storage and Recruit Units and of course the Gas Plant a legacy from the airship years. It is estimated that over 250,000 men and women passed through the station during the second world war to be assessed and kitted out before moving on to other training centres. The impact of the station on Shortstown was profound, houses in The Highway and East Square were earmarked for married staff and WAAFs. It has been recorded that during the war over 8,000 personnel were on the station at any given time. Despite the war the station appears to have been a very lively place boasting a cinema and twice weekly dances which attracted huge numbers.

Low profile activities still carried on at the works however as balloon and kite balloon testing continued. Some key airship workers stayed on at the RAW and the expertise gleaned in the early years firmly cemented the base as a centre for balloon research. In December 1936 RAF Cardington was formed at the base and the Balloon Development Establishment was formed. Interestingly the Royal Airship Works Sports and Social Club in North Drive survived the change and finally closed its doors around 2007. Thus began the third phase of Shortstown’s development.

For more about RAF Cardington visit the RAF section in this website for background information or visit our sister site www.rafcardingtoncamp.co.uk for more in-depth research.

In later years from 1950 onwards new homes were built in Shortstown to accommodate RAF staff. The station became a recruiting centre for young men called up for National Service. In 1966 The Balloon Unit moved away and civilians mostly remained on the site taking over the Gas Plant. RAF Cardington finally closed in 2000.

However this is not the end of Shortstowns story - the station has since been demolished and new homes have replaced the old buildings but Sheds 1 and 2 still remain and The Shorts Building has been restored and is now a children’s centre on the ground floor and apartments on the first floor. In recent years Shed no 1 was the home to the Airlander and locals were often treated to the sight of the ship on trial runs around the locality. And of course who can forget the arrival in 2013 of One Direction who completed a video in Shed No 1 – a real treat for local fans!

Both sheds are now home to the film industry which opens up a new chapter not only for Shortstown but also for Bedford. However Shortstown will always be associated with the airships and the RAF station opposite and is in no hurry to forget its wonderful heritage.